Author Topic: Update those Ugly Factory MC9 Mirrors... I did it and here's the link to how  (Read 9715 times)

Offline Hartley

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Hi All,

My latest project over the past 2 days (me slow ::)) has been to rid myself of those ugly and almost
useless MCI mirrors without breaking the bank and having to re-engineer the whole bus...

I have an html version and a PDF version with pictures and how to on my website. Each mirror
is about $55 or so each. I used the 8 X 15 Inch Bus mirrors from a new supplier. They are easy
to repair as they are modular and any parts are available including upgrades to heated and remote
control for way less than the cost of one of the velvac units.

http://www.rvbus.net/

It's the mirror thing on the main page. You can open or download the PDF also there....

I love it when a plan works the first time..... Wow !

Dave.....
Never take a knife to a gunfight!

Offline tekebird

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o each thier own but I don't think there is anything wrong with the MCi mirror.  It just needs Convex lens aux mirrors and to be adjusted properly

Offline RJ

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Have to admit, I agree with Doug.  Think about it - how many drivers have pounded the pavement millions of miles with OEM mirrors w/o major problems?

Misalignment is the most common thing I've seen with bus conversion owners complaining about the OEM mirrors.  When aligned properly, along with a 4" or 5" convex mirror, they work fine.  Several owners have marveled to me privately at the improvement in visibility with just a few minutes spent readjusting them properly. 

I will also agree that the new, heated, remote-controlled mirrors are a nice luxury. . . something to add after the rest of the coach is completed. . . if ever!

OTOH, nice job on the installation, Dave.  Appreciate you sharing pics of your project, as well as the "how-to".

FWIW & HTH. . .

 ;)
1992 Prevost XL Vantaré Conversion M1001907 8V92T/HT-755 (DDEC/ATEC)
2003 VW Jetta TDI Sportwagon "Towed"
Cheney WA (when home)

Offline plyonsMC9

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Hi Dave,

Nice - my MC9 mirrors are heavily  corroded & banged up, and I had been wondering what options were out there.    Thanks for the tutorial also - very helpful.  Thanks for taking the time to do that.  BTW - the links are all broken on the html how-to.  Looks like they all point to local files instead of links to locations on the web site.

thanks again Dave! 

Best Regards, Phil
Northern Arizona / 1983 - MC9, 1995 MCI DL3-45

Offline Hartley

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Blasted WORD for Windows... I will have to go back in and fix that part, sorry...
Never take a knife to a gunfight!

Offline NJT5047

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I'm with Dave on this.  The new mirros look much better than the OEM MC9s (IMHO of course).   This has been on my too-doo list for a long time...never really saw a reasonably cost sensitive way to change out....
Thanks Dave for the post and how-to instructions!
Now to check out the mirror company and see if they offer the units in chrome. 
JR
JR Lynch , Charlotte, NC
87 MC9, 6V92TA DDEC, HT748R ATEC

"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others.”

Ayn Rand

Offline buswarrior

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Hey Russ...

We're becoming old and set in our OEM ways.....

I've been finding myself saying " When I started out, we didn't......"

Thanks for sharing the pics Dr Dave!

happy coaching!
buswarrior
Frozen North, Greater Toronto Area
new project: 1995 MCI 102D3, Cat 3176b, Eaton Autoshift

Offline Hartley

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The reason that I changed the mirrors was " AGGRAVATION FACTOR ", I had the passenger side mirror that needed the glass changed because the mirroring was almost gone. I found another whole mirror of an MC8 which was the right one.

This all started when I tried to remove the screws to take the glass out of the extra mirror. Just wasn't happening, The steel screws had welded themselves into the aluminum housing. I then checked to see if I could get the screws out of the one on the bus. Well needless to say that wasn't working either for the same reason.

I backed up a few steps and decided just to swap the heads. Well I had gotten part of the ARM with the mirror off the MC8 and it was a short arm so wouldn't necessarily fit in place of the MC9 arm which was longer.

I couldn't get the head off the old MC8 arm because the setscrew was corrosion bonded to the aluminum housing, Then the pin was bonded to the aluminum head. So without going the route of destructive dissassembly I found that I was wasting time.
I heated and used extreme actions to try to remove the head from the old shaft. Just wasn't gonna happen without destroying the glass which is all I needed......

Well, So I proceded to try removing the old mirror off the bus. Oh. Gee.. It came off way too easy, I just couldn't get the trim ring off to get the glass out without destroying the whole thing.... GRRRRRRRRR...

I spent way too much time and energy to just replace a mirror. I stepped back..... :-\

The end result was that I could not stand there and deal with those old style mirrors anymore. I walked away....

I was doing a search and ran across Southeast Bus Parts & Service's website. Looky .. Mirrors.. And Affordable Too...
I called them and asked a few questions and decided to order a set of the Mirror-Lite Bus mirrors.. Like around $55 each..
No metal parts to rust or sieze up and easy to repair because they are modular design.

Sold me right then... I had wasted about $300 worth of labor fighting with a no-win scenario, I broke tools too..$$$

All I needed was 2-Pieces of 3/4 I.D. Steel Tubing with a 1" diameter outer. Measured to 10 inches long...
oh about $3.00 worth of tubing.

Since I had the passenger side mirror head already off I only had to spend 45 minutes cutting and grinding the one loose from the drivers side. ( It was corrosion welded to the shaft! )  ???

I am finding that I get tired of fighting with things when it's easier to step back and figure out an easy and better replacement
using more up to date parts. Can't always win at that but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to keep your sanity...

On another note, That day went so well that it scared me.... Oh.. Don't worry I got paid back for winning one battle the next
day... I went to use my air tools... Oooops.. what No Air... My big compressor had tripped the breaker....

As I reset the breaker I looked back towards the compressor which is about 80 feet away and as it tried to start up the SMOKE escaped from the motor in a giant plume..... Acccckkkk....

I had seen replacement motors in stock at Tractor Supply which is about 2 miles away... I went to get a motor....
Ooopps.. None on the shelf..... OH..No....

They looked to see if any were on their next inbound order... Nope, Not restocked automatically. They found one in another
store which is 50 miles away. So Sunday was Drive a 100 mile round trip for a $200 motor.

So on the way back home I get a call from work... Emergency... One of the machines quit working...
I got home, rested a few minutes, had lunch and jumped into the Isuzu to drive to Orlando...
Spent an hour fixing a bad cable and back home.. Gee another 90 miles...

Sorry to ramble on... Enjoy.....


Never take a knife to a gunfight!

Offline NJT5047

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DrDave, do you have Southeast's website address?  Didn't pop up when I searched it...ten thousand other Southeast things did.    I like the mirrors. 
Mine look like crap.  They made a square (more or less) parabolic for the top of the OEM mirrors...seen them and they looked good, never seen them for sale.  I've got round truck-style and they look like crap too.
Works...just ugly. 
Thanks in advance, JR
JR Lynch , Charlotte, NC
87 MC9, 6V92TA DDEC, HT748R ATEC

"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others.”

Ayn Rand

Offline Hartley

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It's an eBay storefront, They also do PayPal....

http://www.sebusparts.com/servlet/StoreFront


Enjoy....
Never take a knife to a gunfight!

Offline NewbeeMC9

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wish I had seen those a while back,  maybe I'll upgrade later because I'd like bigger mirrors.

Any way, they painted my mirrors with the spraycan bedliner stuff from auto zone.  my srews came out and I added another plate like on the driver side for for the parbolic mirrors and I bought new ones from the sterling truck store.  Improved looks anyway.

It's all fun and games til someone gets hurt. ;)

Offline buswarrior

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On the newer style rectangular convex mirrors...

They may look good to an engineer or manufacturer trying to package or make something....

BUT....

A squared off convex mirror cuts off a lot of the stuff that a driver wants to see:

The bottom lets you see further forward on your side: too many things end up pounded into the baggage doors of the newer buses, because the driver can't see down there.

The outer side lets you see wider: the earlier you can see things, the harder to hit them while checking the other side.

The top: well, it is nice that the reflection of the sun up behind you in the middle of the day is gone, but so too is seeing tree branches, the eavestrough on the garage, the awning unfruling at highway speed....

The inner side: lets you set the whole contraption further out while still having the bus in the picture for space reference purposes. You may move your head all over and still see what the relationship is. With the squared off one, to set it wide to compensate for the outer cut off, you must leave an awful thin strip of the bus in the mirror, which disappears depending on where your head is.

Even the Truck manufacturers are succumbing to this fashionable, poorer performing style.

Trucker can't see the trailer in the door mounted mirrors when he turns corners anymore, and must add large, round convex fender mirrors to compensate.

Try the mirrors you want, and see if they will duplicate or improve what you already have for rear vision.

happy coaching!
buswarrior
Frozen North, Greater Toronto Area
new project: 1995 MCI 102D3, Cat 3176b, Eaton Autoshift

Offline Hartley

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And Your point is?

That whole thing that you spent the time to expound may have made sense to you, But in laymans terms
You decide what mirrors that you want based on your desires and needs.

I like to see what I run over and since I really hate to run over stuff I want a chance to see it first.
The stock MCI rectangular mirrors with the tiny spot mirrors were woefully short of providing a correct
large format view. They have such serious blind spots that almost 20 feet along the coach is in the NO-ZONE
where only if you take your attention away from all else could you determine that an object was along side.

If you can't see and can't trust your mirror views so that you could back up through a set of cones in a slalom
course, You are bind... I personally don't like blind spots.

If you want to know.. Try riding through Bike week traffic around Daytona in your bus. Bikers will hug the center line
right down in your blind spots. I had one woman that rode with her foot sticking out and tapping my generator
exhaust pipe while running 30 mph.. Just for fun.... If she had been on the right side I wouldn't have seen her at all.

On the other Hand, If you don't approve of the larger mirrors and views.. So Be it.. It's your consience when you
flatten someone because you couldn't see them down there in the NO-ZONE.....

Drive for FIVE... All Eyes All the Time in all directions... :o :o
Never take a knife to a gunfight!

Offline buswarrior

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Sorry...

My point is:

I haven't seen a recent model of sexy mirror that comes close to showing what a good old round convex will show us.

The current crop of OEM mirrors from all of the coach manufacturers, and most of the after market, show the driver less of what one wants to see compared to the OEM of days gone past.

My opinion: Less field of view at the expence of styling, is not progress.

Yes, the flat portion of the newer mirrors is larger, and that is a very pleasant thing!

And everyone should run whatever mirror will make them happy!

We should all know the limitations of what the mirror shows, and what needs to be done to compensate for what is missing in the view.

Sorry for the confusion, I think we're promoting similiar goals.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

Frozen North, Greater Toronto Area
new project: 1995 MCI 102D3, Cat 3176b, Eaton Autoshift

Offline RJ

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And I'd like to restate my point about busnuts who have problems seeing with their mirrors, regardless of size:



Poor Adjustment



If you don't have them adjusted properly, you can't see around your coach. 

Simple as that.

 ;)
1992 Prevost XL Vantaré Conversion M1001907 8V92T/HT-755 (DDEC/ATEC)
2003 VW Jetta TDI Sportwagon "Towed"
Cheney WA (when home)

 

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